Tag Archives: fear

by | December 31, 2024 · 5:00 am

A Different Kind of Happy

Saw Newton, two of my Karen students, and I being hosted by the pastor of one of the churches in Umpiem Refugee Camp, on the Thailand side of the Myanmar-Thai border.

Faith-inspired happiness

This holiday season, I’m thinking a lot about those who are far away from home, those who cannot go home, those who no longer have a home to go to, and those who may still live at home but no longer feel safe or happy in their own home. That means, I’m thinking a lot about so many of you–my students, colleagues and friends in Myanmar, Thailand, and the Congo, and also about so many others I know who are carrying such heavy burdens right now. I know this past year has been tough in many ways for so many, and the year ahead may be full of even more uncertainty.

At the same time, as we move into a new year, I see something else at work in your lives. Something hopeful.

The Psalmist wrote: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” (Psalm 145:18-20, NRSV)

Repeatedly we read such hopeful messages in the Bible. Though evil doers cause so much pain and destruction, God is still able to fulfill our heart’s desire and accomplish his good purposes in our lives. Even in our darkest night, nothing can extinguish the light of Jesus Christ or snuff out God’s forgiveness and salvation. Amid our suffering and long wait for God to bring justice to this broken world, the Holy Spirit comforts us by reminding us that God is watching over us.

We may not always perceive God’s care, and too many of the world’s population see no hint of God’s justice throughout their lifetimes. But the consistent witness of the Bible is that the world is not spinning out of God’s control, despite appearances to the contrary. No one knows when God may undermine evil doers, overthrow cruel tyrants, and subvert systems of oppression, but God will ultimately right the wrongs and save those who love him and put their trust in him. Our job is to continually pray for God’s will to be done and for God to deliver us from the evil one (Matt. 6:9-13) and to focus on the good that is within our power to do—loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40).

When I stop to think about all this, I feel happier. I’m happy to be loved by my Creator, to know him, and to believe that my life has meaning and purpose because of God’s ongoing work in my life. I’m happy to not have to face the troubles of this world alone. I have support. I have help. I’m also happy that I am surrounded by other people who, like me, know and love God and want to serve him by helping others and contributing to the world. We have so much in common that even our shared tears, along with all we are working for and experiencing together, fill the empty, longing places in my heart.

And all this makes me happy, very happy, most of the time. Of course, I struggle with sadness, anger, frustration, despair, and fear like everyone else. Sometimes, all I can do is cry out to God or try to distract myself from my pain. But having such a personal relationship God and surrounding myself with other like-minded and like-hearted followers of Jesus has made all the difference. It’s this kind of faith-inspired happiness I treasure the most. And that’s what I am wishing, hoping, and praying for you, too, as we go into another year.

So, Happy New Year. Take heart. “The LORD is near to all who call on him, who call on him in truth.”  

With the love of Jesus,

Dr. Tim

President, Faith, Hope, and Love Global Ministries (www.fhlglobal.org)

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by | March 27, 2024 · 4:11 am

Don’t Forget to Stay Grounded

Karen refugees from Burma, living in Mae Sot, Thailand

When the winds blew and the waves crashed over their little boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’ disciples panicked. Jesus was sleeping. Was he going to do anything to save them? Did he even care? In desperation, they woke him, crying out, “Lord, save us. We’re going to drown!”

But from Jesus’s perspective, there was no reason to worry. No matter how dark the sky or threatening the tempest, he knew that their lives were in God’s hands, and nothing could touch them unless God allowed it. So, he chastised his disciples, saying, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then, he rebuked the wind and the waves, and the sea became calm. And the disciples were amazed. (Matthew 8:23-27)

The disciples were not being criticized for waking Jesus up or for asking for his help. Nor is Jesus saying that you shouldn’t take threats to your health or well-being seriously. Neither is he suggesting that those who trust in God will never be harmed. You know that isn’t true. The Bible and history are full of stories of people suffering unjustly or dying prematurely from diseases or other natural and unnatural causes. Even Jesus himself was eventually crucified. But at that moment, in the midst of a raging storm, he was at peace. He trusted in God’s will for his life, and for his death. 

No, Jesus chastised the disciples because they were letting their circumstances unnerve them. They were giving too much power to their fears, forgetting that following Jesus into the boat calls for trusting God through the storm.

What about you? How are you coping with the many current threats to your well-being? Like Jesus’s disciples, sometimes all you might be able to see is the size of the waves, the strength of the wind, and all the real dangers. Sometimes it may seem like Jesus is sleeping or that God doesn’t care. But it isn’t the case. God does care, and Jesus is not sleeping.  

If you can do something reasonable to diminish the risks facing you or your family, do it. But no matter what is or isn’t within your power to do, keep returning to the Source of your life and eternal hope. God is your anchor, your rock, your strength. You need God’s working in your life not only to answer your prayers, but to enable you to experience peace amid the storm and courage to face the uncertain future. Without a solid connection to God and staying grounded in your faith, the storms may very well unnerve you and throw your life into chaos. The opposite of what you most need at such times.

Over the past two months, I had the privilege of teaching and ministering again along the border between Myanmar and Thailand. One of the things that has made a big impression on me is how much the refugees actively draw upon their faith to cope with their fears and hardships. This is true for those still struggling to survive and cope within Myanmar as it is for those who have fled to the other side of the border. Their lives may have been devastated, their future hope shattered, and family members and friends killed, but they keep going back to God for stability and strength. They frequently worship, pray, read Scripture, listen to sermons, sing, fellowship together, help one another, and participate regularly in many other such spiritual activities. It’s how they structure their lives and stay grounded in their faith. It’s how they find peace, courage, and strength despite their circumstances.

I don’t know what you might be going through today, but I do know that everything looks and feels different when I stay well connected to God and trust in God’s will for my life amid the storms.

The Psalmist put it this way, when he told himself: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress. I will not be shaken” (Psalm 62:5-6, NIV).

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by | September 26, 2021 · 10:57 am

Chapter 6 in “What We Can Expect from God Now” (read by the author)

VIDEO SERIES ON TRUSTING GOD IN TROUBLED TIMES

Produced in ENGLISH with BURMESE subtitles

When we are so cruelly mistreated or suffer tragedy, or whose lives and hopes have been severely disrupted by abusers or threatening forces, we will naturally experience the typical symptoms of grief (shock, bargaining, anger, depression). Consequently, it is no surprise that the people who are writing to me from Myanmar this week are stunned, angry, confused, discouraged, or simply terrified over the wanton destruction in Chin State and elsewhere in Myanmar.

Just a week ago, one of my former students, Pastor Cung Biak Hum, was shot to death as he rode his motorcycle into the town of Thantlang (Chin State, Myanmar) to help families whose homes were being burned to the ground by occupying forces. Any death is painful, but senseless, cruel, and brutal killings of those who are trying to help others in their time of need, and who leave behind a loving spouse and small children, are especially distressing. He’s now an inspiration and hero to many, but he will greatly missed.

Right now, you may be feeling the same way about suffering or oppression in your own life or about someone you care about. You may be nearly out of your mind with distress, worry and fear. You’re wondering, what’s going to happen next? How should you be praying? If God is not going to spare you from suffering, why should you pray at all? What are some practical ways to deal with fear and anxiety about the future?

In this week’s chapter, the spiritual truth addresses these questions. Though it was originally written to help readers to deal with their anxiety over COVID-19, the spiritual truth in it applies to all kinds of fears and worries.

I cannot fully answer why God is allowing you to suffer as you are. But I can assure you of Jesus’ love and care for you, and of his desire to minister to you in your time of loss and suffering. After I finish reading the chapter, I offer some additional, personal words of encouragement, especially for those suffering in Myanmar right now.

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by | March 31, 2020 · 7:23 pm

What Can We Expect from God Now? (Introduction)

Introduction to series of essays

In response to the COVID-19 global crisis, a nine-part essay series on trusting God in troubled times.

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I want God to stop the coronavirus immediately. I’m worried for myself and especially for all the people I love and care about. I pray for God to protect me, my family, and everyone everywhere. But as the numbers of sick and dying keep increasing, along with dire forecasts for the coming weeks, so does my anxiety. I’m obviously not alone in this.

What if God doesn’t help? Already, thousands have died and many more will. Given our experience so far, is it even reasonable to expect that God will do anything in midst of this COVID-19, global crisis? If so, what?

Spiritually, many of us are at the “Help me, God!” stage. We’re reaching out to God for whatever help we can get. Others of us are wrestling with profound theological questions right now as well: “Where is God? Does God care about our suffering? Why doesn’t God do more to help? If God won’t stop the onslaught, what can we expect from God?”

Photo credit: Francois Mori/Associated Press

These questions have been and continue to be very relevant to me, personally. Ever since our first child died in a miscarriage; my mother began a long, debilitating, losing battle with Alzheimer’s disease; and I learned that I contracted a terminal disease the day after my first son was born, I have been asking more and more questions like these. Bottom line, I simply want to know, “Can I trust God? And if so, for what?”

I feel the urgency of these questions more in times of crisis, but ask them regularly in Myanmar, where I serve six months a year, where human suffering is so visible to me every day. In fact, the questions are always with me, because there are no answers that fully satisfy me intellectually or that completely assuage my grief and angst. There is so much we wish we understood about God, but just can’t. Yet, what we believe and how we act on our faith still makes a huge difference in our ability to cope with adversity and an uncertain future.

Over the coming weeks, I will be talking about seven spiritual truths for trusting God in troubled times.

  1. Remember your limited ability to understand the will and ways of God. Take whatever God offers.
  2. Expect God to be at work in your life, leading and guiding you.
  3. Expect God to build your character, strengthen your faith, and lovingly restore your hope through your suffering.
  4. Expect to share in Christ’s sufferings. Expect to share in his glory.
  5. Remember—nothing can separate you from the love of God.
  6. Expect more peace, as you put your anxieties in God’s capable hands.
  7. Expect to be renewed, as you accept your limitations and wait on God.

This series of essays does not attempt to answer all the questions any of us might have right now in the midst of the COVID-19 threat. Instead, they offer spiritual truths that so many have found helpful in any and all times of crisis and distress. They are insights that grow out of the Bible and have been validated in my own experience and by the experience of millions of Christians over the years. They are truths, not because anyone can prove them to be true by scientific testing. They are true because of how they have qualitatively improved the minds, hearts, and lives of those who believe and live by them. I hope you find them meaningful and helpful, and will share your own perspective, comments, and questions with the rest of us, each week.

What are you expecting from God?

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Jesus healing the blind man (John 9), Chartres Cathedral, France

Copyright © 2020 Timothy C. Geoffrion, Wayzata, Minnesota. All rights reserved to the author, but readers may freely download, print, forward, or distribute to others, providing that this copyright notice is included.

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by | November 28, 2016 · 8:55 am

Post-Election Possibilities. What Now? (A Christian perspective)

The test of democracy is not simply about how well we follow the rules in selecting our leaders and participate in the process as citizens. The real test is in how we handle the results—and in how we treat the other side going forward.

No matter if our candidate won or lost, we need to find ways to work together with those who think differently than we do. It’s not going to be easy, but we have to get past thinking about politics as a win-lose endeavor. Especially as Christians, win or lose, we are called to think about the common good and the interests of others, not just our own. (Philippians 2:4)

If our candidate won, we don’t gloat but we keep trying to engage in respectful dialogue with those who think and vote differently. We think broadly, and seek to create policies that serve as many people as possible, not just “our own.” If our candidate lost, we don’t pour contempt on the winner, sulk, or withdraw. We roll up our sleeves and do whatever is still in our power to work for a better nation, doing whatever we can to represent our views to decision-makers.

What does this mean practically? It means the same thing it has meant for the past eight years under Barak Obama, for the two terms Bush served in the same office, and for the past two hundred forty years since the beginning of our republic. Each of us has a voice, and each of us has the privilege and responsibility to participate and contribute wherever we can.

We work for good on the local level. We advocate for our views on the state and national levels. We try to build bridges to those who see things differently. We work even harder to present and express our views to those who don’t understand or accept them. We contribute to charitable organizations and political activist groups we believe in. We even protest loudly and visibly, when need be, but without violence or malicious actions that only cause further damage or alienation.

In other words, there are right ways to participate in a democracy, and there are wrong ways. There are constructive options, and there are destructive ones. Especially at this time in the USA, after such an ugly and offensive campaign season, our country needs to find ways to pull together.

The Apostle Paul taught us to use the freedoms that we cherish so much to build up and not destroy (Ephesians 4:29-5:1). When teaching Christians how to conduct themselves both in the church and in society, the Apostle Peter said, “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (1 Peter 2:1). And then later on in the same letter, he commanded his readers, “As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:16-17). In other words, we are expected to live what we preach. We are charged to model what we say we believe about human rights, dignity, tolerance, and decency.

Going forward, some of us will be in position to be political or social game-changers. If you can do something big, by all means, do it. Most of us, though, will find our greatest opportunities to contribute simply by trying to be our best selves in our families, at work, at church, and in our local communities. We will make a difference by relentlessly seeking to be Christ-centered and Spirit-led in every possible dimension of our lives, no matter how others behave or react toward us.

The day after the election Hillary Clinton quoted the Apostle Paul to encourage her supporters to stay engaged in society, even though they lost the election. It’s a good verse for all of us, no matter who you voted for. Paul said, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Each of us can choose our attitude going forward, and each of us always has options for taking action. Nothing can stop us from contributing if we are determined to do so. The question is never, “if” we can do something, but “what,” “how,” and “when”?

This fall, I’ve been far away from the United States, teaching seminary students and other Christian leaders in Myanmar. I voted by absentee-ballot, but otherwise could only observe the American political and social scene from a distance. I continue to be distressed and embarrassed by the name calling and hostility back and forth between opposing sides. I am anxious about how the new leadership will conduct itself. I worry about the fallout from the ongoing culture wars in America . But I’m choosing to not to focus on what is outside of my power to control. Instead I’m focusing on what kind of person God is calling me to be and the opportunities he’s giving me to make a difference.

At the very least, I pray that Christ’s love and light will shine through me in all my dealings with others. I will keep asking the Spirit to empower me to live by my values, to be the best husband and father I can be, to serve well in all my responsibilities, to keep working to build a stronger global church, to do my part to be hospitable to foreigners and marginalized people in my own country, and to promote better international relationships when I am teaching and ministering abroad. Beyond that, I plan to stay alert to whoever may be negatively affected by governmental policy changes, especially those who cannot advocate for themselves, and to use whatever power I have to stand with those who have less power.

This is what it means to me to serve Christ and to be led by the Spirit in the real world, with so much conflict, distress, uncertainty, and suffering. No politician, governmental policy, or authority figure can take these possibilities for doing good away from me, from you, or from us as we keep working together. Some of our goals and efforts may be opposed or thwarted, but if our cause is right, God will work for good in some way through us.

Whether your candidates won or lost, may God enable you to stay rooted and grounded in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the leading the Holy Spirit. May God give you eyes to see all the open doors before you to work for the common good, and give you strength to not grow weary in doing all you can for the sake of Christ and his kingdom.

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